Woman arrested for defacing Washington's National Cathedral

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A woman was arrested for allegedly dumping green paint on portions of the National Cathedral on Monday, while police continued to investigate similar acts of vandalism at other monuments in Washington, D.C.

The Episcopal Church cathedral was locked down after the paint was found on the entrance and in two chapels. The unidentified woman was arrested after a police sweep of the premises, the Washington Metropolitan Police Department said.

Police are investigating whether the woman may have been responsible for defacing the Lincoln Memorial and the Smithsonian Institution in the past week.

A crooked splotch of green paint was discovered on the huge statue of Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial on Friday.

On Monday green paint was found splattered on a statue of Joseph Henry, the first secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Some of the paint had been scrawled into images that looked like a cross between stick figures and hieroglyphs.

"It's just unfortunate that people could be so disrespectful. It's too bad," said Elisa Rogers, of Ormond Beach, Florida, who was visiting Washington with her family.